THE COLONIAL BOY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXVI, Issue 11935, 24 March 1914, Page 2

THE COLONIAL BOY.

TALE OF A CRICKET MATCH

THE MAN'S ADVENTURE IN THE PARK.'

The following is contributed to the Lyttelton Times: —

It was a very hot February morning when the Man wended his way to pass a few sunny hours in the Park. Attracted by the shade of some old trees, he found himself on the edge of a cricket ground, with a match in progress. The local newspapers had missed this interesting item, or perhaps the innate modesty of the players demanded their remaining incognito. The players themselves constituted an intrinsically interesting group. A small boy of eleven, with a bat far too large for him, presided at the wicket; a huge lawn-mower, evidently dragged by the united efforts of the field, acted as wic-ket-keeper. At the end of tho pitch, another boy, slightly less small than tho batsman, stood ready to annihilate his opponent's stumps. The bowler's sleeves were rolled up to his armpits, revealing a pair of exceptionally skinny arms, but what he lacked in muscular force he evidently made up in vital energy. The fielders numbered three —aged, say, from seven to thirteen. Nor was the gathering devoid of the fair sex. One maiden of some fifteen summers, .and one of less than five, graced the assembly with their presence. The gay dresses of the ladies mingled with the beautiful foliage and verdure of the field, forming a pleasing picture, etc., etc. —such, I believe, is the correct journalese for v gathering of this description.

The Man watched the game for some time in silence, and then a sudden memory of boyhood's days came to him. He. wanted to bat; he wanted to bat more than anything in the world. He approached the eldest player, and, showing a threepenny bit, said: "I'll give you this for a turn."

"No, mister," came the prompt and surprising reply; "we're playing amatch. " Then he added consolingly, "But. this is the last man in, and if you like to wait till he's out you can join in then. "

So the humble " thru miner " was de-clined-—because it was a match! That gave, the Man food for reflection, and he did not mind the waiting. The end came soon. A well-directed overarm scattered the stumps, and victor and vanquished retired to choose fresh sides. The Man came forward humbly, and was tacitly chosen as captain of one side, and a coin—the same threepenny bit —was solemnly tossed. The Man won. "I choose him," he said, pointing at a. Kmall boy with freckles and two front teeth missing. "1 take this bloke," said the captain of the other side, pointing to another small boy. So the choosing went on, (he boys' captain openly expressing his disgust that one lad of under seven had fallen to his lot. The Man promised that the little one should be bowled underhand with easy balls; the grumbler, slightly mollified, grunted approval. The game started. The Man elected to bat his side first. He made two fours in succession, and tin; boy with the freckles and without the two front teeth expressed approval. "You can bat a bit, mate," he said. The Man felt llatterod, and ilattery is dear to every soul. But his elation did not last long. Shortly afterwards he was bowled out with a. score of li!—unlucky ii umbo i!

An interval was called for luncheon, at which the older l:uly presided. The meal took exactly five minutes, and consisted of some bottles of ginger-pop and currant buns. The. rest which medical men assure us is ko essential to digestion was ignored, and play started at once. The Man thought casually of several dyspeptics he knew, mid then his mind reverted to happy childhood clays. And so the game proceeded. The opposition, to use regular cricket phraseology, were dismissed for 16, and the Man 's side won by two runs; a close game and a highly interesting

Walking home, the Man thought, "So that's the. colonial boy." And with himself the Man agreed that, despite all that superior people who came from ■'Ome might say, the colonial boy was distinctly likeable. The Man liked his sturdy independence, his refusal of the threepenny bit because there was <i match on; that was a fine sporting spirit. Such independence was surely a thousand times better than the obsequiousness of lads of a .similar class at Home. There was the comradeship of equality, too: ''Yon can bat a bit, mate. " it may be "beastly familiar" and "jolly independent," ami all that sort of thing, don't you know, but it IS more manly and altogether attractive than the cap-in-liand attitude. Maybe them's a want of reverence about it, but there's a lack of snobbery, too — than which there is no social disease more loathsome.